Wringer



- J.N. GOULD wameza Filed lay 28. 19% 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 hNVENTOR-Z JOHN QQULD.

Patented Oct. 20, 1925.

UNITED STATES P T NTorFIcE.

JOHN N. GOULD, OF FREDERICKTOWN, OHIO, .ASSIG-NOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, 'TO THE F. B. ZIEG MFG. COMPANY, OF FREDERIGK'I'OWN, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

WRINGER'.

Application filed May 28, 1921. Serial No. 473,272.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JOHN T. Room), a citizen of the United States, residing at Fredericktown, in the county of Knox and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in WVringers, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to clothes wringers and more particularly to power driven wringers used in connection with washing machines. The invention has special relation to a safety device for the quick release and separation of the rollers in case of an emergency.

In the ordinary type of power driven wringers there is the constant liability of injury to the operator by having a hand caught between the compression rolls and serious injury sustained before the driving' mechanism can be disconnected. There is also liability of damaging the wringer mechanism when clothes become wound about the rolls or bunched in too great thickness to pass between them. Safety devices heretofore used to avoid these difiiculties have been generally inconvenient and uncertain in operation.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a quick operating roller releasing device in which the operating members are at all times connected so that the rollers may be released and restored to operative relation without readjustment of the parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide controlling means for the device which is prominently located and available to the operator from any position about the wringer.

Another object is to provide a releasing device in which the rollers maybe released from compression and separated or may be restored to operative position under compression by the movement of a single control.

A further object is to provide a simple construction with a minimum of parts and free of obstructions to the efficient and convenient operation of the wringer. 7 .Further objects and advantages will be apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of my invention which I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood, however, that in the appended claims I aim to cover all legitimate variations and modifications of the construction illustrated herein, which are within the scope of myv in vention- Y In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a wringer equipped with my device. parts in normal position for the operation of the wringer. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of apart of the releasing device as viewed'on the plane of line 33 in Fig. 2. Fig. 4-is Fig. 2 is an end vlew showing. the

an end view showing the upper roll released from tension and lifted free from the lower roll. Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view ofthe member illustrated in Fig. 3 taken on the line 55 in Fig. 2.

In the embodiment of my invention herein illustrated I have shown a wringer as adapted for use in a conventional construction of a mechanical washing machine. The wringer is mounted upon a swinging bracket 10 which carries a gear box 11 housing suitable gear mechanism adapted to drive the wringer rolls. The bracket 10 may be provided with a depending tubular extension 12 through which a drive shaft 13- may extend into the gear box for the operation of the gear mechanism. The tubular portion 12 may be adapted for pivotal mounting in a suitable support carried by the washing machine. A hand lever 14 may be provided on the upper portion of the gear box and 16 are a pair of similar swinging bearing supports 18 and 19 pivoted at 20 (Figs. 2 and 4) on one side. of the wringer to latera-l projections 21 formed on the sides of the bearing'blocks 15 and 16. The swingingbearing supports 18 and 19 carry suitable bearings for the ends of a second shaft '22 upon which an upper roll 23 is constructed. The supports 18 and 19 when in normal position support the .upper roll immediately above-and in operating relationto the lower roll, and are adapted also to swing upwardly abouttheir pivots and carry the upper roll a lsubstant'ial distance away from the lower l oilinu V v j. i

Rigidly mounted upon the ends, respectively, of the upper and lower roll shaftsl? and 22 adjacent to the gear -box '11 are a pair of gears 24 and 25 which interengagc when cthe upper roll is in operative position uponzthe lower :roll and v by which the upper r.oll;is=operatively .dr-iven;

To secure the rolls "n normal relation with the necessary compression torthe op eration of the wringer Ihave provided relea-sable tension means-comprising.a pair of upright members v26 and 27 pivoted at their lower sends on lateral projections .28 extend ing (from the base portion of. each of the bearing blocks '15cand 16. The membersQG and .27 are preferablyconstructed with U- shaped cross section, opening .toward the 'r'ol-lersito I receive the projections: 28 and the tensioning member-s hereinafter described. Ilhe .upperpends of the members.% ant 27 are rigidly interconnected .bya control bar QQ-byf which the members may be swung simultaneously abouttheir pivots.

wPiVotally mounted in the upper end of each .ofihechannelled members is a short pOstBOhavingfa portion of its treeend spirally corrugated-to receive in'snugengage- *nient therewith lone-end ot' a coiled spring '31. The opposite end'of each of the springs 31 carries a similarly threaded short post '32 which is pivoted toe-lateral projection '33 carried .byeaoh of the bearingsupports l8jjand 19. The-distance between the pivot centers of the springsupports 30 and 32 is suolrthat with the upper bearing supports 1-8; and 19 in normal position with the rollers in operating-relation, the springs 31 are compressed by the inward movement of the channel members 26 and 27 thus effecting the necessary operating compression between the two wrinojer rolls.

The lateral projections2-8 formed-on each ot the bearing blocks 15'and '16 and the lat eral projections 33 formed on the upper hearingsupports 18 and 19 are of relative l pgths so that the pivot centers of the lower sprint: supports 32 are a slight clistanee outwardly from alinement with the pivotcenters of the llhper spring supports 30 and the lower pivot centers of the upright members 26 and;27. .Tosecure the desired nor- ,mal relationofthe pivot centers the inward movement, of the upright members is limited by abutment with the upper bearing supports, as between the projections-.33 and thecrear walls of the'members26 and '27. ,The aresultiof this arrangement is to-efi'ect a and member 27.

locking action by the compression spring tending to normally hold the parts in operating relatiomand which prevents the re lease-0f the bearing members 18 and 19 carrying the upper roll otherwise than by positive movement outwardly of the upper ends of the members 26antl27.

Viith the outward swinging ot' the {latter .n embers, by means of the controhbar 29,

the relatively stationary lower pivotal supports of =the springs draw the springs out of their normal position within the channeled recesses in the l nembersflii and 2?, and with the continued movement of the latter .inembers Lthe upper roll bearing supports are released from'con pression. i

In =the operation of the device, the rQlls when apartmay bepositionetl as illustrated in Fig/4c. Theupperiroll is then depressed into position either by moving :the supports 1,9.carrying theroll or by ,inovingithe horizontal bar'29 away from the rolls so asito draw the upperroll into a position such that the pivot between the spring 31 and the support 19 crosses the line between the pivot 20 and the pivot between spring 31 YVith the parts thus'fpositioned, =the roll may beheld in place while the bar 29 is raised ltowardthemachine to exert a compressing actionthrough spr' q" 31 to hold theroll in place. The parts will :then assume the position shown in Fig. 2,. It will be observed in Fig. ,2 that the lower end of the spring is slightly beyond the cenier toward the left so that vthe pressure of thespring in compression tends-to move the upper .end of the bar 2-9 toward the right 7 in Fig. 2. To open the rolls one merely moves the bar 29 to-the leftt or away :from the rolls to cause the bottom spring: pivot to cross the center line ofmem- 'ber after which the force of o the. spring is'eXerted tocontinue :motionof the bar 29 away from the machine, thereby relieving pressure on the roll automatically. course it will be understood that the mo- 1tionot';.the control bar'away from .the rolls will continue until. the spring has crossed the line between the pivot 20and the pivot of the spring with the bracket 19. .Asithe control 'bar .29 .moves away from themafch ne'the pressure on therol l diminishes unitil the spring reaches 1ts completely .ex-

panded position, "afterwhichithe parts can be readily raised vw thout .exertlng force against the spring- 31, aoain bringing the parts in theposition shown in Fig. 4. The

control bar is sufliciently elevated vab oveuthe rolls-so that it otfersnoobstructipn the ordinary use of the wringfiyand by reason of its location is conspicuously ayailalole to the operator from any position on either side of e wr ng 1 A further'advantage resides .in the length of the control bar which extends over -the entire length of the rolls affording added facility to the operator for quickly grasping and releasing the rolls in case of accident.

It will now be apparent that I have provided quick releasing means of a very simple and inexpensive construction which securely holds the rolls in proper operating relation under compression until it may be desired to release them and that the latter operation may be accomplished by a simple movement of a readily available control bar, which, after movement past a certain point, instantly releases the rolls for separation.

It will also be observed that the continuous engagement of the interconnected parts avoids the necessity for any adjustments or separate replacement of either the rolls or the tensioning means in releasing the rolls or in restoring them to operative relation.

I claim as my invention:

1. A wringer comprising a pair of supports pivotally engaged at one end and adapted to swing relatively to each other, a

pair of rolls journalled intermediately of z the ends of said supportsv respectively, a

member pivoted to one of said supports having a rigid structure of U-shaped cross sec tion forming a lateral recess, another member pivoted to the other of said supports and to said first mentioned member, and having a resilient structure, said members being swingable into one position wherein their pivot centers are in approximate alinement with said resilient member lying in said recess and tending to force said supports toward each other, and into another position wherein said pivot centers are considerably displaced out of alinement to cause the pivot between the resilient member and one support to close the line between the pivot of the two supports and the pivot of the resilent member with a U-shaped member whereby to release said supports for sepa-' ration.

2. A wringer comprising a lower roll, a stationary support therefor, an upper roll, a swinging support therefor hinged upon said stationary support, a member pivoted on said stationary support having a rigid structure providing a lateral recess, a spiral spring, a pair of couplings permanently secured in th respective ends of said spring in the movement of said member in one direction to enter said recess in approximate alinement with the pivot center of said member, thereby compressing said spring, and by the reverse movement of said member to break said alinement and relieve. said compression.

8. A wringer comprising upper and lower rolls, separable upper and lower bearing supports therefor, said bearing supports having lateral portions hinged together, a normally upright member pivoted on said lower support and extending above .said upper support, an abutment limiting the inward movement of said member, a compression member having pivotal connection with the upper end of said upright member and with said upper bearing support oppositely of said hinged portions, said pivotal connections being normally in approximate alinement with the pivot center of said upright member slightly displaced from true alinement with said other pivotal connections thereby tending to secure said upright member in normal position.

stationary end bearings for said roll, an upper roll, movable end bearings-for said upper roll, a pair of swinging members pivoted respectively to each of said stationary bearings and normally extending above said upper bearings, a pair of compression members having pivotal connections respectively with the upper portions of said swinging members and said upper bearings, said compression members normally having their pivotal connections in approximate alinement with the pivot centers of said swinging members and tending to force said movable bearings toward said stationary bearings, said connections being movable out of said alinement by the outward movement vof said swinging members to release said stationary bearings, and a bar rigidly connecting said swinging members operable to swing said members simultaneously.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

80 4. A wringer comprising a lower roll, 

